Dense pile tufting machines

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to tufting machines for producing dense pile fabrics and more particularly those of the cut pile type. In general, the machine includes apparatus for shifting the backing fabric used in the tufting process relative to the needles, loopers, and cutting mechanism. Through the novel arrangement of the shifting mechanism and the tufting components, as set forth in this disclosure, a dense pile fabric is produced having rows of pile tufts which are spaced less than the distance of the spacing between adjacent needles as viewed in the direction of the backing fabric feed. As is known in the art, the guage of the machine is measured by the transverse spacing between adjacent needles. The longitudinal rows of tufting produced through the apparatus of the present disclosure are spaced less than the guage distance. The disclosure further presents a commercially desirable machine of the so-called sliding needle plate type which produces a cut pile fabric.

United States Patent I 1 113577943 [72] lnventor Charleswilliam Watkins3,301,205 l/l967 Card 112/79 lliiaon, 'lenn.

- Primary Examiner-James R. Boler [2] 1 Appl' msuo Attorneys-Marshall J.Breen, Chester A. Williams and Julian [22] Filed Apr. 3, 1969 [45]Patented May 111, 1971 [73] Assignee 'lheSinger Company N w ABSTRACT:This disclosure relates to tufting machines for a .producing dense pilefabrics and more particularly those of i the cut pile type. In general,the machine includes apparatus [54] DENSE LE Tun-[N6 MACHINES forshifting the backing fabric used in the tufting process rela- 16 Claims1 Drawing Fig trve to the needles, loopers, and cutting mechanism.Through the novel arrangement of the shifting mechanism and the tuft-USe ing components as set forth in disclosure a dense 112/266 fabric isproduced having rows of pile tufts which are spaced [5 l l Cl. less thedistance of he spacing between adjacent needles Fleld 0f v as viewed inthe direction of the backing fabric feed. As is 79.6, 266, 410 known inthe art, the guage of the machine is measured by the transverse spacingbetween adjacent needles. The longitudinal [56] References Cited rows oftufting produced through the apparatus of the present UNITED STATESPATENTS disclosure are spaced less than the guage distance. The disclo-2,679,218 5/1954 Jones 1 12/79 sure further presents a commerciallydesirable machine of the 2,975,736 3/1961 Card 112/79 so-called slidingneedle plate type which produces a cut pile 3,282,235 11/196 6 Crawford112/79 fabric.

PATENTED um 1 I97! INVENTCR. Charles W. Watkins Fig. 3

WITNESS= ATTORNEY DENSE PILE TUFIING MACHINES BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEINVENTION prises in general a sliding'needle plate mechanism whichshifts the needle plate and the fabric relative to the needle bank andin the transverse direction so as to eliminate the straight-lineappearance of the tufting on the pile side of the fabric. However, asnoted in this patent, the machine illustrated therein is mainly directedto the production of fabric of'the so-called loop pile variety. Untilthe advent of the present invention; the

sliding needle plate-type machine was not commercially used forproducing cut pile fabrics. In the loop pile type of machine of theaforementioned patent, the loops were required to be shed from theloopers prior to shifting of the fabric so as not to restrain thelateral shifting thereof. In the present invention; this requirement hasbeen eliminated and a cut pile fabric is produced which is relativelydense and which can be produced through the use of guage parts which aresubstantially twice the guage of the guage of the fabric producedthereby.

In the present invention, aplurality of loopers are provided below thebacking fabric and are disposed so that they face in a directionopposite to the direction of fabric feed.'As loops are produced throughpenetration of the needles and are picked upby the looper mechanism, theloops are fed toward the rear portion of the looper by the advancementof the backing fabric. While the loops are on the loopers, they permitsome lateral shifting of the backing fabric: but restrain the backingfabric from shifting a full guage width or the distance between oneneedle to the next. Further, the'apparatus is' designed so that theneedles penetrate the backing fabric during a portion of the lateralshifting thereof so as to restrain the lateral shifting of the backingfabric after a predetermined amount of shifting has occurred while theshifting mechanism continues to shift relative to the backing fabric. Bythis means, the backing fabric is shifted substantially only one-halfthe distance between adjacent needles to produce parallel rows oftufting which are relatively closely spaced and are substam tiallyone-half the guage of the guage parts of the machine. This latteroperation is in contrast to the operation of p the previously describedpatent where the shifting of the backing fabric took place while theneedles were in the up position so as to permit full shifting of thebacking fabric along with the sliding needle plate so that the fabricstepped at least a full guage width during each shifting thereof. Also,in the prior described patent a plurality of relatively long needleplate fingers was required for supporting a backing fabric duringpenetration of the needles and which needle plate fingers aided insecuring the backing fabric to the needle plate for lateral movementthereof. In the present invention, since the loops are held by thelooper mechanism and the backing fabric is not shifted a full guagewidth, the use of these relatively long needle plate fingers is notrequired.

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a novel andimproved tufting machine for producing relatively dense pile fabrics.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sliding needle platetufting machine for producing dense cut pile fabrics.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improvedtufting machine wherein fabrics are produced thereby having parallelrows of tufts which are spaced less than the distance between adjacentneedles.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel andimproved method of operating a tufting machine for producing relativelydense pile fabrics.

Other objects and advantages will be best understood from reading thefollowing detailed description with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a tufting machine embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the pile forming elements ofthe machine illustrated in FIG. l,'portions of the machine having beeneliminated for purposes of illustration;

and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plane view of the needle plate of themachine of FIG. 1 with broken-away portions of a tufted fabric inposition thereon and portions of the machine again having beeneliminated for purposes of illustration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to the drawings,there is illustrated a portion of the frame 10 of a generallyconventional cut pile tufting machine such as disclosed, for example, inU.S. Pat. No. 3,084,645, issued to R. T. Card. The frame I0 includes ahead 12 in which is journaled a driven main shaft 14. A plurality ofeccentrics I6, only one of which is shown, are supported on the mainshaft 14, each of which eccentrics is connected by a link or connectingrod 18 to a pushrod 20 mounted'substantially vertically forendwise'sliding-in the lower portion of the head 12. The lower ends ofthe pushrod 20'are connected to a needle bar 22 which carries aplurality of transversely spaced, yam-carrying needles 24 that aresubstantially aligned laterally of the machine, as viewed in thedrawing. Upon rotation of the' main shaft 14 through a-suitable powersource, not shown, an endwise reciprocation is imparted to the bank ofneedles 24 for penetrating a backing fabric F and to project loops ofyarn therethrough. A machine bed 26 is provided on the lower portion ofthe machine frame 10 and supportsa needle plate 28 thereon; The needleplate 28 includes a plurality of spaced grooves in the top surfacethereof and in each of which there is supported a needle plate finger30, which needle plate finger 30 need only'be of sufficient length tosupport the backing fabric F as the needles penetrate said backingfabric to project loops therethrough.

Suitably supported in the machine frame 10 and beneath the needle plate28, there is provided an oscillatorylooper or hook shaft 32 whichcarries a plurality of spaced loopers 34, each of which is adapted tocooperate individually with one of the needles 24 to seize a loop ofyarn presented by the needle and to hold the same as the needle iswithdrawn from the backing fabric; With particular reference to FIG. 2,it will be seen that the loopers 34 are supported in the looper shaft32' so that they are facing a direction opposite to the direction offabric feed as indicated by the letter A. It will be apparent that asthe backing fabric is fed and loops are formed, they will be seized bythe loopers 34 and fed toward the rear portion thereof. As will be morefully explained hereinafter, the holding of the loops on the loopers 34during relative movement of the backing fabric aids in accomplishing oneof the main objects of the invention, that is, producing the dense pilefabric. Associated with each looper 34, there is provided a knife 36which is supported in a knife shaft 38 for cutting the loops as they arefed toward the most rearward portion of the looper. Preferably, theknives are'stationary but may be rocked relative to the loopers. Apresser foot 39 is also provided over and in spaced relation to thefabric F and is carried by the head in the usual manner (by means notshown). The presser foot 39 is adjusted just to clear the backing andacts to prevent the backing from following the needles as the needlesare withdrawn.

The backing fabric F is fed longitudinally across the needle plate 28 inthe direction of arrow A by conventionalfeed means such as thatdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,019 to M. M. Beasley. This meanscomprises in general a fabric feed element and a guide means, both ofwhich are in the form of driven fabric feed rolls and include a feedroll on the fore end and a feel roll on 'theaft end of the machinearranged, respectively, in back and in front of the line along which theneedles 24 penetrate the backing fabric. The feed rolls are preferablyspiked to prevent slippage of the fabric relative thereto, bothlaterally and tangentially. lt is also preferable to operate the aftfeed roll at a slightly greater speed than the fore feed roll so thatthe fabric is held taut, for reasons as best explained in theaforementioned patent.

The needle plate 28 is mounted on the bed 26 for sliding movementlaterally of the machine, that is, in a direction parallel to the lineof needles. The needle plate 28 is guided by a guide bar 40 secured tothe bed 26 and butted against the edge of the needle plate opposite tothe edge from which the fingers 30 extend. Shoulder screws 42 extenddownwardly into the bed 26 through stepped slots 44 in the needle plate28 to permit relative sliding movement of the needle plate 28 withrespect to the bed 26.

At one end of the needle plate 28, there is provided an upstanding lug46 to which there is pivotally connected a link or rod 48 at one endthereof, and the opposite end of the rod 48 is pivotally connected tothe lower end of a cam follower lever 50 which in turn is pivotallysupported intermediate its ends at pivot point 52. A cam follower S4 isprovided on the upper end of the lever 50 which cam follower rides in acam track 56 provided in a cam 58. The cam 58 is mounted on a shaft 60joumaled in bracket 63 on the machine head 12 which shaft is rotated bya worm gear 64 mounted on a countershaft 66 which in turn is driven by achain 68 entrained about a sprocket 70 carried by countershaft 66 and asprocket 72 carried by main shaft 14.

lt will be seen, therefore, that the cam is driven in synchronousmovement with the main shaft of the machine which in turn also drivesthe tufting components. The cam is designed to initiate pivotal movementof the lever 50 during the downstroke of the needles 24, so that slidingmovement of the needle plate is initiated while the needles aretraveling toward the backing fabric F for penetrating said backingfabric with a loop of yarn. The cam track 56 is also designed toinitiate sliding movement of the needle plate 28 at least a full guagedistance or at least the distance from one needle to the next adjacentneedle. Thus, if the guage or distance between the needles is fivethirty-seconds of an inch, one full sliding step of the needle plate 28would be five thirty-seconds of an inch.

The operation of the apparatus of the invention is generally as follows.During the downstroke of the needle bank, sliding movement of the needleplate 28 is initiated a full guage distance by the cam mechanism. As theneedles descend, they will intercept the backing fabric F as it ismoving laterally with the needle plate 28 and will penetrate the samewith each needle passing between a pair of needle plate fingers 30.However, because of the design of the cam, and its timing, the full stepsliding movement of the needle plate 28 will not be completed at thistime but will continue the remainder of its sliding action. Due to thefact that the needles have intercepted the backing fabric prior to thefull stepping movement of the needle plate, the backing fabric will berestrained from moving the full guage distance along with said needleplate.

Because the loopers are facing in a direction opposite to the fabricfeed, loops will be fed onto the loopers and will be held thereby untilthey are fed to the rearward portion of the looper for cutting by theknives 36. Normally, in a cut pile tufting machine, several loops areheld by the loopers 34 until the loop farthest back on the looperreaches the knife wherein it will be cut and the next loop will not becut until it is fed back on the looper by movement of the backing fabricF. The holding of the loops on the loopers 34 also serves to restrainthe backing fabric from moving a full guage distance with the needleplate 28. This is so because of the fact that the yarn around the looperis held at one side by the previously formed stitches and is tensionedat its other side by the yarn passing through the needle while it isforming a new loop. Thus, the loops on the loopers tend to restrain fullguage shifting of the backing fabric F, which restraining movement isalso aided by the penetration of the needles through the backing duringshifting thereof.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that longitudinallyextending parallel rows of tufts will be produced, which parallel rowsare spaced substantially one-half the distance between adjacent needles.As further viewed in FIG. 3, it will be seen that two parallel rows oftufts are produced at the needle penetration points between adjacentneedle plate fingers 30 with the two parallel rows having a commonzigzag backstitch. The fabric produced through the novel apparatus andmethod, described above, will have spaced rows of tufts which are spacedat a distance substantially one-half the distance of the guage parts. Inother words, if the guage of the needles and other tufting components iffive thirty-seconds of an inch, the fabric produced thereby will have aguage of five thirty-seconds of an inch. Likewise, a one-fifth of aninch guage machine will produce one-tenth of an inch guage fabric. Itwill be apparent that this is very desirable since very fine or denseguage products can be produced using relatively wide guage parts, sothat it is possible to use approximately one-half the guage parts thatwould normally be required for production of the guage fabric producedby the apparatus of the present invention. This also eliminates the needfor using relatively fine guage parts with the inherent disadvantagesthereof, such as difi'rculty in threading, maintenance, repair,replacement, etc. In addition to the elimination of the so-called comcobeffect, which is an advantage in all machines of this type, variouspattern effects can be produced by using a different color or texturedyarns in different needles. It is also contemplated that the machine ofthe present invention can be used with needle banks having needles in astaggered relationship in comparison to the inline needle bankillustrated in the drawings.

While the invention has been described above in its preferredembodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modificatons can be made without departing from the spiritand scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

lclaim:

l A method of forming a dense pile fabric by means including a pluralityof transversely spaced needles, a looper for each needle, and alaterally shiftable needle plate having a plurality of finger elementsfor supporting a backing fabric, said method comprising; feeding abacking fabric longitudinally across the needle plate, penetrating thebacking fabric with the needles for forming yarn loops in said backing,holding the yarn loops with said loopers during the return stroke ofsaid needles, initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plateand said backing fabric during the downstroke of said needles with therelative timing of said needle plate and said needles being such as topermit interference-free relative movement therebetween such that saidbacking fabric is intercepted and restained by said needles from furtherlateral shifting movement with said needle plate, whereby said backingfabric shifts only a portion of the distance with said needle plate witheach lateral shift thereof.

2. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 1,wherein said needle plate is shifted at least the distance betweenadjacent transversely spaced needles and said backing fabric is shiftedsubstantially one-half the distance of said needle plate.

3. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in .claim 1further comprising, advancing the loop of yarn toward the rear portionof said loopers, and cutting each loop of yarn when it is adjacent therear portion.

4. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 1 furthercomprising, initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plateand said backing fabric while loops are being held on said loopers suchthat the loops on the loopers restrain said backing fabric from shiftingthe full shifting distance with said needle plate.

5. A method of forming a dense pile fabric by means including aplurality of transversely spaced yarn-carrying needles, a looper foreach needle, and a laterally shiftable needle plate for supporting abacking fabric for lateral shifting movement therewith, said methodcomprising; initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate atleast the distance between adjacent transversely spaced needles,penetrating the backing fabric with said yam-carrying needles beforesaid backing fabric has shifted the full distance with said needle platewhereby said needles restrain further lateral movement of said backingfabric with said needle plate, the relative timing of said needle plateand said needles being such as to permit interference-free relativemovement therebetween, removing said needles,advancing the backingfabric longitudinally of said needle plate and repeating the abovesteps.

6. A method of fonning a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 5 furthercomprising, receiving the loops of yarn carried by said yarn-carryingneedles through said backing fabric with said loopers to fonn loops andholding the loops of yarn during shifting of said needle plate and thebacking fabric such that said backing fabric is further restrained bysaid loops on said loopers from shifting the full shifting distance withsaid needle plate.

7. A method of fomring a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 5 furthercomprising, cutting the loops of yarn on said loopers after shifting ofsaid needle plate.

8. A method of forming a dense pile fabric by means including aplurality of transversely spaced yarn-carrying needles, a looper foreach needle, and a laterally shiftable needle plate for supporting abacking fabric, said method comprising; penetrating the backing fabricwith said yarn-carrying needles to form loops therein, receiving andholding the loops of yarn on said loopers during the return stroke ofsaid needles, initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plateat least the distance between adjacent needles and in relativeinterference-free cooperation therewith and while the loops of yarn areheld by said loopers whereby said backing fabric is restrained by theloops held by said loopers and shifts only a portion of the distancewith said needle plate.

9. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 8,wherein said backing fabric shifts substantially onehalf the distancesaid needle plate is shifted.

10. A method of forming a dense pile fabric by means including aplurality of transversely spaced yam-carrying needles, a looper for eachneedle, and a laterally shiftable needle plate for supporting a backingfabric for relative longitudinal movement of said backing fabric andlateral shifting movement therewith, said method comprising; penetratingsaid backing fabric with said yam-carrying needles to form loopstherein, receiving and holding said loops with said loopers, initiatinglateral shifting movement of said needle plate at least the distancebetween adjacent needles, and in relative interference-free cooperationtherewith such that the backing fabric is shifted substantially one-halfthe distance said needle plate is shifted whereby rows of closely spacedlongitudinal rows of loops are produced having a spacing substantiallyonehalf the distance of the spacing between adjacent needles.

11. A method of fonning a dense pile fabric as recited in claim furthercomprising; removing the needles from said backing fabric, advancingsaid backing fabric longitudinally of said needle plate, and cuttingsaid loops on said loopers to form cut pile.

12. in a tufting machine, a plurality of transversely spaced needles,means for reciprocating said needles so that during reciprocationthereof said needles penetrate a backing fabric for inserting loops ofyarn through said backing, a laterally shiftable needle plate forsupporting the backing fabric, with said needle plate being shiftable soas to be disposed in interference-free relationship with said needlesduring penetration thereof, means for feeding the backing fabriclongitudinally across said needle plate, a looper associated with eachneedle, each said looper having a hook portion for receiving and holdinga loop of yarn from its associated needle, said looper being disposedwith its hook portion facing in a direction opposite to the direction ofbacking fabric feed such that the loops of yarn will feed toward therear of said looper as the backing fabric is fed relative thereto,cutting means for cutting the loops of yarn after they are fed towardthe rear of said looper, and means for initiating lateral shiftingmovement of said needle plate and said backing fabric while loops arebeing held by said loopers such that said loops on said looper restrainthe lateral shifting movement of said backing fabric whereby saidbacking fabric will shift a distance less than the distance.

between adjacent spaced needles.

13. In a tufting machine as recited in claim 12 wherein said means forinitiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate and saidbacking fabric is operative for initiating shifting movement thereofduring the downstroke of said needles.

14. In a tufting machine as recited in claim l3 wherein said means forinitiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate and saidbacking fabric is operative to shift said needle plate at least thedistance between adjacent needles.

15. In a tufting machine as recited in claim 12 further comprising, aplurality of transversely spaced needle plate fingers for supporting thebacking fabric during penetration thereof by said needles, said needleplate fingers being supported by said needle plate and extending fromsaid needle plate in the direction of fabric feed to a distancesubstantially equal to the spacing of said needles from said needleplate.

16. In a tufting machine, a plurality of transversely spaced needles,means for reciprocating said needles so that during reciprocationthereof said needles penetrate a backing fabric for carrying loops ofyarn through said backing fabric, a laterally shiftable needle plate forsupporting the backing fabric, means for feeding the backing fabriclongitudinally across said needle plate, a looper associated with eachneedle for receiving and holding a loop of yarn from its associatedneedle, each said looper having a hook portion disposed in a directionfacing opposite to the direction of fabric feed such that the loops ofyarn from said needles will feed toward the rear portion of said looperduring feeding of said backing fabric, cutting means for cutting theloops of yarn after they are fed toward the rear portion of said looper,means for initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate andsaid backing fabric during the downward stroke of said needles and whileloops are disposed on said loopers, said means being operative to shiftthe needle plate at least the distance between adjacent needles and inrelative interference-free relationship therewith, and the holding ofthe loops by said loopers and the penetration of the backing fabric bysaid needles during shifting of said needle plate being operative torestrain the shifting of said backing fabric so that the backing fabricwill shift a distance less than the distance between adjacent needles.

1. A method of forming a dense pile fabric by means including aplurality of transversely spaced needles, a looper for each needle, anda laterally shiftable needle plate having a plurality of finger elementsfor supporting a backing fabric, said method comprising; feeding abacking fabric longitudinally across the needle plate, penetrating thebacking fabric with the needles for forming yarn loops in said backing,holding the yarn loops with said loopers during the return stroke ofsaid needles, initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plateand said backing fabric during the downstroke of said needles with therelative timing of said needle plate and said needles being such as topermit interference-free relative movement therebetween such that saidbacking fabric is intercepted and restained by said needles from furtherlateral shifting movement with said needle plate, whereby said backingfabric shifts only a portion of the distance with said needle plate witheach lateral shift thereof.
 2. A method of forming a dense pile fabricas recited in claim 1, wherein said needle plate is shifted at least thedistance between adjacent transversely spaced needles and said backingfabric is shifted substantially one-half the distance of said needleplate.
 3. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 1further comprising, advancing the loop of yarn toward the rear portionof said loopers, and cutting each loop of yarn when it is adjacent therear portion.
 4. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recited inclaim 1 further comprising, initiating lateral shifting movement of saidneedle plate and said backing fabric while loops are being held on saidloopers such that the loops on the loopers restrain said backing fabricfrom shifting the full shifting distance with said needle plate.
 5. Amethod of forming a dense pile fabric by means including a plurality oftransversely spaced yarn-carrying needles, a looper for each needle, anda laterally shiftable needle plate for supporting a backing fabric forlateral shifting movement therewith, said method comprising; initiatinglateral shifting movement of said needle plate at least the distancebetween adjacent transversely spaced needles, penetrating the backingfabric with said yarn-carrying needles before said backing fabric hasshifted the full distance with said needle plate whereby said needlesrestrain further lateral movement of said backing fabric with saidneedle plate, the relative timing of said needle plate and said needlesbeing such as to permit interference-free relative movementtherebetween, removing said needles, advancing the backing fabriclongitudinally of said needle plate and repeating the above steps.
 6. Amethod of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 5 furthercomprising, receiving the loops of yarn carried by said yarn-carryingneedles through said backing fabric with said loopers to form loops andholding the loops of yarn during shifting of said needle plate and thebacking fabric such that said backing fabric is further restrained bysaid loops on said loopers from shifting the full shifting distance withsaid needle plate.
 7. A method of forming a dense pile fabric as recitedin claim 5 further comprising, cutting the loops of yarn on said loopersafter shifting of said needle plate.
 8. A method of forming a dense pilefabric by means including a plurality of transversely spacedyarn-carrying needles, a looper for each needle, and a laterallyshiftable needle plate for supporting a backing fabric, said methodcomprising; penetrating the backing fabric with said yarn-carryingneedles to form loops therein, receivIng and holding the loops of yarnon said loopers during the return stroke of said needles, initiatinglateral shifting movement of said needle plate at least the distancebetween adjacent needles and in relative interference-free cooperationtherewith and while the loops of yarn are held by said loopers wherebysaid backing fabric is restrained by the loops held by said loopers andshifts only a portion of the distance with said needle plate.
 9. Amethod of forming a dense pile fabric as recited in claim 8, whereinsaid backing fabric shifts substantially one-half the distance saidneedle plate is shifted.
 10. A method of forming a dense pile fabric bymeans including a plurality of transversely spaced yarn-carryingneedles, a looper for each needle, and a laterally shiftable needleplate for supporting a backing fabric for relative longitudinal movementof said backing fabric and lateral shifting movement therewith, saidmethod comprising; penetrating said backing fabric with saidyarn-carrying needles to form loops therein, receiving and holding saidloops with said loopers, initiating lateral shifting movement of saidneedle plate at least the distance between adjacent needles, and inrelative interference-free cooperation therewith such that the backingfabric is shifted substantially one-half the distance said needle plateis shifted whereby rows of closely spaced longitudinal rows of loops areproduced having a spacing substantially one-half the distance of thespacing between adjacent needles.
 11. A method of forming a dense pilefabric as recited in claim 10 further comprising; removing the needlesfrom said backing fabric, advancing said backing fabric longitudinallyof said needle plate, and cutting said loops on said loopers to form cutpile.
 12. In a tufting machine, a plurality of transversely spacedneedles, means for reciprocating said needles so that duringreciprocation thereof said needles penetrate a backing fabric forinserting loops of yarn through said backing, a laterally shiftableneedle plate for supporting the backing fabric, with said needle platebeing shiftable so as to be disposed in interference-free relationshipwith said needles during penetration thereof, means for feeding thebacking fabric longitudinally across said needle plate, a looperassociated with each needle, each said looper having a hook portion forreceiving and holding a loop of yarn from its associated needle, saidlooper being disposed with its hook portion facing in a directionopposite to the direction of backing fabric feed such that the loops ofyarn will feed toward the rear of said looper as the backing fabric isfed relative thereto, cutting means for cutting the loops of yarn afterthey are fed toward the rear of said looper, and means for initiatinglateral shifting movement of said needle plate and said backing fabricwhile loops are being held by said loopers such that said loops on saidlooper restrain the lateral shifting movement of said backing fabricwhereby said backing fabric will shift a distance less than the distancebetween adjacent spaced needles.
 13. In a tufting machine as recited inclaim 12 wherein said means for initiating lateral shifting movement ofsaid needle plate and said backing fabric is operative for initiatingshifting movement thereof during the downstroke of said needles.
 14. Ina tufting machine as recited in claim 13 wherein said means forinitiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate and saidbacking fabric is operative to shift said needle plate at least thedistance between adjacent needles.
 15. In a tufting machine as recitedin claim 12 further comprising, a plurality of transversely spacedneedle plate fingers for supporting the backing fabric duringpenetration thereof by said needles, said needle plate fingers beingsupported by said needle plate and extending from said needle plate inthe direction of fabric feed to a distance substantially equal to thespacing of said needles from said needlE plate.
 16. In a tuftingmachine, a plurality of transversely spaced needles, means forreciprocating said needles so that during reciprocation thereof saidneedles penetrate a backing fabric for carrying loops of yarn throughsaid backing fabric, a laterally shiftable needle plate for supportingthe backing fabric, means for feeding the backing fabric longitudinallyacross said needle plate, a looper associated with each needle forreceiving and holding a loop of yarn from its associated needle, eachsaid looper having a hook portion disposed in a direction facingopposite to the direction of fabric feed such that the loops of yarnfrom said needles will feed toward the rear portion of said looperduring feeding of said backing fabric, cutting means for cutting theloops of yarn after they are fed toward the rear portion of said looper,means for initiating lateral shifting movement of said needle plate andsaid backing fabric during the downward stroke of said needles and whileloops are disposed on said loopers, said means being operative to shiftthe needle plate at least the distance between adjacent needles and inrelative interference-free relationship therewith, and the holding ofthe loops by said loopers and the penetration of the backing fabric bysaid needles during shifting of said needle plate being operative torestrain the shifting of said backing fabric so that the backing fabricwill shift a distance less than the distance between adjacent needles.